


Must've Been The Fourth of July

by celticdreamz



Series: Everything's Changed [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-22 22:33:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2524094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celticdreamz/pseuds/celticdreamz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Angst, fluff, fireworks, and booze. Need I say more?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Must've Been The Fourth of July

The rest of the afternoon had been spent walking around the park and simply trying to get to know one another. Opening up was a lot easier for Steve than it was for Maria. He had read through most of her personnel file after Natasha had done that "info dump", and could understand why Maria was so reticent to discuss her past.

He had stood by and watched helplessly as the barrier he'd been working to chisel through iced over once again. Steve had been confused as to the cause, until he saw her staring at a family: mother and father swinging a three year old in pigtails between them. At first, Steve thought her reaction was because that was the life Maria had wanted, but couldn't have because of her career. Then, he remembered reading that her mother had died shortly after Maria had been born. That family wasn't the life she wanted now, but the one she should've had as a child. Steve's fingers tightened around hers, gently saying that he understood and was there if she needed him.

"Let's get out of here," was her mumbled reply.

On the ride back, she needed no prompting about wrapping her arms around his waist. Steve could feel her cheek resting against the back of his shoulder. Seeing that family had affected her more than she let on, and all he could do was lightly pat her knee in a silent gesture of comfort.

"You okay?" he asked after parking the bike and killing the engine.

"Yeah," Maria nodded, retying her hair back into a less windblown ponytail. "I just hate feelings."

"You're not exactly a Vulcan, y'know," Steve replied, trying to get her to smile.

"Sometimes I think life would be easier if I was." Maria then paused to look at him like he'd grown a second head. "Wait, what? Did you actually say 'Vulcan'?"

"Hawkeye got me hooked on Star Trek," he replied with a shrug. "I can see how the concept was ahead of its time. I just started Next Generation last week. That Q guy reminds me of Loki, and not in a good way."

Maria shook her head in disbelief. "We may get you up to speed on this millennia yet."

"Maybe," Steve chuckled softly, but didn't move out of her way. He kept his posture relaxed and non-threatening, staying out of her personal space. Mostly.

There was a crotch rocket to her nine o'clock, Steve's Harley to her three, and the concrete wall of the garage to her six. Maria was hemmed in, and she knew it. She had also watched security footage of him taking out the entire STRIKE team in an elevator. He could be deadly under the wrong conditions, and she swallowed thickly.

"Problem…?"

"You never did answer my question," he said with a small, but warm smile.

"What question…?"

Steve's expression said it all: _"You know darn well."_

"Oh. Yeah." Maria tried unsuccessfully not to chew her bottom lip. "I thought I had."

"Not really."

His hand reached out until his fingers lightly touched hers. Generally speaking, Maria's experience with being touched usually ended up with someone bleeding. Except when it came to Steve. His thumb gently caressed her knuckles, and that only emphasized the zing of attraction she couldn't help feeling.

That sensation only intensified when his hand slowly started moving up her arm. Maria read the situation for what it was: he was giving her every opportunity to break and run if she wanted. Except that her feet seemed to be rooted to the concrete pavement. There was something about the look in Steve's eyes that kept her from pushing past him and heading for the elevator.

"I'd like to hear you say it." His voice was warm, soft, and low as he shifted closer to her. The scent of Old Spice should've warned her that Steve was getting a little too close, but she still couldn't move. Her lips parted slightly when he tucked the side of his index finger under her chin. "Please, Maria. Say you'll be my girl."

It should be illegal for a guy who could kick as much ass as Steve Rogers to have eyelashes that long, or a lopsided smile that did weird things to her physiology. And it should've been impossible for her mouth to answer without checking in with her brain first.

"Yes, I'll be your girl."

"Really?"

Gone was the super soldier who had obviously taken his cues from Bogart himself. Maria blinked in surprise as she looked up at him. Though the serum hadn't worn off, she could almost see a hint of the proverbial ninety-pound-weakling Steve had once been.

"I… uh, yeah." Maria's sheepish reply might've surprised Steve, but it shocked the shit out of her.

The huge grin on his face said it all, and it was the only warning she got before his lips collided with hers. The first time he'd kissed her, it had been shy and awkward. This time? Not so much. It was a damn good thing his strong arms kept her secured to his chest because her knees suddenly couldn't be counted on for shit.

"Hey, Captain Hotlips," Stark's voice echoed over the intercom. "Let her come up for air. There's a whole party waiting for you."

The soft sigh of disappointment from Maria bolstered Steve's ego a bit. Maybe, just maybe, she'd wanted to kiss him, too. A small, but triumphant, smirk crossed his lips as he took her hand again.

"Rain check on finishing that?"

Maria's eyes were a luminous shade of blue compared to the relative gloom of the parking garage, and she quickly looked away. "I, um… I think we should get upstairs before they send out a search party."

If his time in the Army had taught him anything, it was how to pick his battles. Steve let her win this round, and simply kept a hand at the small of her back as he escorted her up to the party.

"Finally!" Hawkeye crowed when they exited the elevator. He then nudged Maria in the ribs and whispered conspiratorially in her ear. "It's about time you got a life, boss."

"Shut up, Barton," she hissed back.

"There's the birthday boy!" Tony shouted, making his way through the throng of guests.

Steve groaned as he was crowned with a floppy "Uncle Sam" style hat, complete with flashing LEDs along the band. "Tony…"

But the billionaire wasn't paying any attention. "Now that the guest of honor is here, let's get this party started!"

A few cheers went up, most notably from Darcy Lewis who yelled from across the room. "You guys have got to try this Asgardian mead stuff! It's epic!"

Mingling at parties had always been a problem for her. She'd never been much of a social butterfly, and that didn't change even though she knew everyone in the room. The warm hand that had stayed at the small of her back was reassuring, but not necessary.

"Why don't you go say 'hi' to Sam?" she suggested to Steve, jerking her chin in his (literal) wingman's direction. "I'm gonna go grab a drink."

"You sure?" he asked with an almost disappointed look.

"I'm sure," she smiled. "Go. Have fun."

Steve returned the smile and leaned forward to lightly brush his lips across hers in a move that had more than a few eyebrows raising.

"I told you it wouldn't work."

Maria turned around to find a smirking Natasha standing at her eight o'clock. The redhead then handed her a glass which Maria assumed contained her usual whiskey sour.

"Actually getting him interested in someone else? Maybe not, but the distraction still served a purpose."

"He really is a good guy, you know. And you need a good guy." One of Maria's eyebrows raised as she sipped at her glass, but she said nothing in response to Natasha. "You don't think Tony's the only one I've profiled, do you?"

"Why am I not surprised," Maria snorted.

"I've spent a lot of time with him since New York. I think you two could make it work."

"Don't make me quote 'Fiddler on the Roof' at you."

"Why would you do that?" Pepper asked, approaching them.

"Because she's still trying to play matchmaker." Maria rolled her eyes.

The party was pretty much as expected. Everyone ate their fill of hot dogs, hamburgers, barbecue ribs, potato salad, coleslaw, chips, and so on. Steve, of course, didn't stray too far from her side. Had it been anyone else, it would've gotten on Maria's last nerve, but with him it was actually kind of sweet.

"Who's ready for cake and ice cream?"

"Tony, please don't…" Steve groaned, but the billionaire playboy etc ignored him.

A few minutes later, he returned wheeling in a five-tiered cake with enough candles blazing to burn down a small city. At the top was a Captain America action figure complete with a shield. Even Maria had to facepalm at that.

"And a-one, and a-two, and a-three…" The obligatory birthday balad was loud and off-key, but Maria noticed Steve smiling in spite of himself. "Now, make a wish and put those super soldier lungs to work and blow those candles out."

The room went quiet as Steve followed the protocol. Except there was just one problem. More like ninety-six problems. No matter how he tried, the damn candles relit themselves in cruel mockery.

"Hey! How do I get 'em to stop?!"

Maria shot Stark a withering look, and grabbed the champagne bucket. She pulled the bottle from the ice and started tossing candles into the metal container. The half-melted ice water effectively doused each candle with a fizzing pop.

"Party pooper," Tony grumbled at her.

"Jackass," Maria shot back.

Once the last candle had gone to its watery grave, Steve was tasked with cutting the gargantuan cake. Maria knew that it was the perfect distraction, and excused herself to head back down to her apartment.

"I'm not letting you back in unless you're wearing nothing but a big, red bow!" Tony yelled from across the room.

"In your dreams, Stark!" Maria hollered back.

Her exit was, obviously, not as quiet as she would've liked, and she answered Steve's confused look by holding up her hand and mouthing, "back in 5." He responded with a relieved smile and a nod.

When she returned to the party, she hadn't changed into the bow as Stark had been hoping. Instead, Maria had simply gone back to her apartment to retrieve Steve's birthday present. It wasn't anything huge or over the top, and it really only had meaning to him.

"You didn't have to get me anything," he said when she handed him the flat box in exchange for a plate of cake and ice cream.

"Yeah, I did. Consider it an apology."

"For what?"

"You'll see."

Gifts were given, such as an all expenses paid trip for two to Stark's private island. More than one pair of eyes turned pointedly in Maria's direction, but she said nothing. Other gifts were opened until only hers remained. A very bemused look crossed Steve's face when he looked over the framed scorecard.

"Phillies vs. the Brooklyn Dodgers. May 25, 1941." A crease emerged between his eyebrows. "I was at that game. It was the last one I went to before meeting Dr. Erskine. How did you know?"

"I didn't. Not at first." Maria took a breath before explaining. "Remember when you woke up here after ditching in the Arctic…? Coulson thought it'd be a good idea to try and ease you into the Twenty-First Century. I approved his call. In fact, I may have gone a little overboard."

To everyone's amazement, she actually looked somewhat sheepish. "I did some digging around about what baseball teams were active back then. That's when I found out that the LA Dodgers had actually started in Brooklyn. And since that was your hometown, I just randomly picked a broadcast of a game from the MLB archives. There was no way of knowing you had gone to that game personally since surveillance cameras and credit cards didn't exist in the 1940s. So, consider this my apology for completely flipping you sideways on your first day back."

"Wow," Steve said softly. "That's…"

"It took some serious legwork to find an actual scorecard from that game," she added. "Not a whole lot of people kept cards from a game that early in the season."

Absolute silence filled the space, which Stark was quick to fill. "Looks like the Ice Queen has a heart of gold after all."

"I always knew that," Steve said quietly, and brushed his thumb over the shrapnel scar on her cheek.

"Oh, get a room," Stark groaned. Maria didn't haven't to look at him to know he was rolling his eyes.

An unexpected shrieking whistle followed by a loud boom damn near had her ducking for cover, but Steve's hand on her shoulder kept her rooted in the present. A small, sympathetic smile hovered at the corner of his lips. He may have sucked at poker and lying, but he knew how to say what she needed to hear without actually using his voice.

"Feel up to watching the fireworks?" he asked softly. "I understand if you don't."

"Yeah, I'm good," she replied with a wry smile, and let him lead her to the balcony. "I just wasn't expecting them to go off right then."

Some of the other Avengers were already outside watching other fireworks displays off in the distance. Another concussive blast over their heads had everyone turning and looking up. Ever the narcissistic showman, Stark had set up his own display. Not only were there shells being fired from the top-most roof of Avengers' Tower, but the roofs of other neighboring buildings. Fireworks weren't her most favorite thing ever. Having a grenade explode practically in her face didn't help matters. But simply having Steve at her six made it a whole lot more tolerable.

For once, Maria wasn't the "odd man out" when it came to pairing off. So many times she had avoided any kind of group-related activities since that reminded her of her abysmal dating record. Steve's arm remained around her waist, but not as possessively as she might've expected.

The iconic sound of Ray Charles' "America the Beautiful" floated out across the balcony, and Maria turned to see the various couples already pairing off. Her jaw almost fell open in surprise.

"Darcy and Sam?!" she almost squeaked in an effort to keep her voice down. "When did they…?"

"Maybe if you hadn't worked all those Saturday nights, and avoided having a life, you might've noticed sooner." Steve's voice was low, and the rebuke was teasing.

"Point taken."

They continued to stand there in relative silence until Maria felt his breath, warm and soft, against her ear. "Dance with me…?"

"But you don't dance," she replied, turning to face him.

"Maybe not the Lindy Hop, but I think I can manage something slow." A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Again, Maria found it next to impossible to say 'no' to him. The truth was that Steve didn't let her. He simply placed her arms over his shoulders and then wrapped his arms around her waist. A frown crossed his face when he noticed her awkward expression.

"What's wrong…?"

"I'm just not used to sharing personal space like this."

"Neither am I, but we've gotta start somewhere, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess…?"

"It gets on my nerves that I have to remind myself that I'm not a Commander anymore and can't exactly order you to stand down." Her tone had a harsher edge to it than she intended, and she mentally kicked herself when he stopped swaying in time with the music.

"Do you want me to back off…?"

She inhaled a long breath and let it out slowly. "No, not exactly. This… us… being your girl is going to take some getting used to. It's just been a really long time since someone's actually given a shit about me on a personal level."

"All I'm asking you to do is try," Steve replied, and tucked a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear. "I promise I'm not going to hurt you."

"I know." Her eyes were more on the collar of his t-shirt than his face.

His left hand moved to hold her right, and his other arm pulled her closer until she finally relaxed enough to put her head on his shoulder. Being this close to someone without physically hurting them, or vice versa, was a new experience for her. But there was just something about being in Steve's arms that made her feel safe and protected.

After the last rocket had exploded, most of the others opted to continue the party inside with more drinks and sugar-fueled revelry. A game of beer pong was set up, but Barton and Thor were immediately sidelined. Barton had an unfair advantage with his uncanny aim and Thor couldn't be trusted not to crush the ping pong balls. They'd gone through two dozen of them on New Years Eve before finally giving up. So, the game ended up being Darcy and Maria versus Sam and Steve.

"That's no fair," Darcy half-slurred/half-pouted, and pointed at Steve. "He can't get drunk."

"It's okay," Maria replied with a smirk. "I could probably drink Sam under the table, so that's pretty fair."

"Hey!" Sam protested. "You don't know who you're dealing with here."

"Neither do you."

What had started as a best two-of-three game quickly turned into a best three-of-five. True to her word, Maria had lasted longer than Sam. But not by much. She tried shrugging off Steve's helpful arm around her waist as he escorted her back to her apartment a few floors down, but he wasn't easily dissuaded.

They had barely reached her door when both her hands fisted in the front of his t-shirt and pulled him forward. Steve had to brace himself by planting a hand on the door or else he would've crushed her against it. Maybe that'd been her endgame after all.

Their lips met for the briefest of moments before he felt her tongue trying to work its way past his teeth. Sure, Bucky had mentioned something about "French kissing" back in the day, but Steve hadn't really been paying attention. He'd been more focused on the newsreel about Hitler invading Poland than what he was supposed to do when he finally had a girl to himself.

"Wha…?"

That was all the opening she needed. Steve inhaled sharply at the foreign feel of her tongue against his, and then groaned when her fingers slid through his hair. The arm not supporting himself against the door wrapped around her waist, and pulled her close. Her mouth tasted like a combination of the watered-down Asgardian mead they'd used in their game of beer pong, birthday cake, and chocolate ice cream. And the soft sigh that escaped her throat gave him a bigger ego boost than facing down a thousand Chitauri and winning.

The kiss left them both breathless and dazed. When he could finally look into her eyes, he frowned when he noticed how glassy they looked.

"Maria, I think you're drunk," he said softly, not wanting to offend her.

"Yep," she agreed with a wry smile. "Just drunk enough to say that I like kissing you, and that I want you to sleep with me."

Steve blinked, stunned. "You what…? Don't you think that's…? I thought you wanted to take it slow…"

Her bright blue eyes narrowed at him. "Are you seriously turning me down?"

Steve didn't need anyone's advice to know he was on very shaky ground. "No, I just don't want to do anything you'll end up regretting in the morning."

"Fine." Except he knew from Maria's tone that his answer was anything but fine. He didn't even have time for a rebuttal before she let herself into her apartment and practically slammed the door in his face.

Dames.

Seeing as he had no other choice, Steve walked across the hall and into his own apartment. It wasn't the first time he wished Bucky had been around. He'd been more of a brother than a friend to Steve growing up, and he found himself needing his pal's voice of experience telling him just how badly he'd screwed things up with Maria.

Fifteen minutes later, and his mouth tasting of toothpaste, Steve stared up at the darkened ceiling of his bedroom. He couldn't help but replay what'd happened at Maria's door over and over again in his head. The kiss had been much more intimate than anything he'd ever experienced. Every time he closed his eyes, he could feel her mouth against his. Maybe it was a trick of the imagination, but he swore he could almost still smell her scent on his skin.

It was going to be a long night.

"JARVIS?" he asked a few moments later. "How hard would it be to get into Maria's apartment?"

Steve couldn't believe he'd just asked that.

"Not at all, Captain Rogers," the AI's disembodied voice replied. "Ms. Hill gave a standing order to allow you access to her apartment if needs be."

"She did? When?"

"Earlier this evening, sir."

That decided it. Steve was out of bed and across the hall before he could change his mind about doing something incredibly stupid. He'd taken some serious long shots in his life, and most of them had paid off. He wasn't naive enough to think that Maria had really meant 'sleep' earlier, but that's exactly what he intended to do.

Her room was just as dark as his, but he had no trouble at all seeing the lump under the covers. Steve cautiously peeled back the blankets and slid between the sheets, hoping that Maria was asleep and would stay that way. As he settled in, he could tell that she was curled up on her side, back facing the door. He slid an arm under her neck and wrapped the other around her middle. The fabric of her t-shirt was soft and warm against his hand. He felt her sigh softly, but she didn't say anything. He breathed his own sigh of relief and closed his eyes before falling asleep.


End file.
